LOST IN THE CROWD
by Mally0320
Summary: Nell is needed in the field because of her expertise, but in the end, it leads her to something and someone she never expected.
1. Chapter 1- The Mission

**LOST IN THE CROWD**

_**Nell is needed in the field because of her expertise, but in the end, it leads her to something and someone she never expected.**_

**_I've been writing for a long time, but this is my first NCIS: LA fic. I'm a huge Nallen fan and there just isn't enough written about these two great characters. This story came to me the other night and I just had to put pen to paper, so to speak. Let me know what you think and if I should continue. _**

_********__Sadly, I own nothing._

**Chapter One – The Mission**

Deeks and Kensi tensely sat across the street and waited. They'd arrive at the Merrick Shores Office Building in Venice Beach shortly after ten that morning and an hour later, Deeks was starting to get antsy. Stakeouts were a necessary part of the job, but highly overrated as far as he was concerned. All the glamour of watching and waiting in the movies was all an illusion. The hours were often long and grueling, and despite being stuck in a car with his heavenly scented partner, he was ready for the day to be done and to be throwing back a few beers.

It was unusually hot and muggy outside for Los Angeles, so they had trapped themselves inside the Caddy with the windows closed and the AC dialed up. Cool and comfy, and yet the space was starting to close in. Giving up on the radio and the dirty looks from his partner with each channel he selected, he turned his attention to their snack options. Kensi was a habitual snacker, so Deeks had little doubt there would be something in the glove box or the center console. And within seconds, victory was his – a fresh pack of Twizzlers.

Deep in thought, Deeks' mad search for food went unnoticed by his partner. Ever since Deeks and Sam had come back after being captured, Kensi had often found herself contemplating what she wanted out of life. She was watching the building as instructed by Callen, but at the same time she was delving through all the "what ifs" in her life. Deeks, of course, ranked high on that list but the events of the past few months only fueled in her indecision.

Clearly there was something between them – without question. He had kissed her after all. And even in the aftermath of the capture, he'd admitted, it was his visions of her that had gotten him through those torturous moments. But now Kensi was stuck. What did it all mean and where did they take things from here? Was she ready? Was Deeks? And what had he really admitted to her? Her thoughts were interrupted by the sweet scent of sugar candy and her restless partner.

"Twizzler Fern?" Deeks graciously offered one of his reddish vines along with a charming smile.

"No thanks." Kensi replied returning to her quandary and the job at hand.

As though sensing that Kensi wanted to be alone with her thoughts, Deeks refrained from comment. He instead looked at his watch. It had been a while since Callen's last check-in and he knew time was closing in.

"…ah, Fred and Velma, isn't time starting to run out? Don't we need to get moving like fast," Deeks pressured over Callen's ear wig.

"Patience guys. Nell's still doing her thing." Callen responded checking his own watch as he tried to ease Deek's fears, although he was admittedly sweating it a bit himself. The clock was ticking away. In some ways, Deeks and Kens had the easy job. They just had to sit look out while he and Nell had to break their way past security and secure intel off the bad guys server. It was a challenging job for sure, but nothing out of their ordinary. They had carefully mapped everything out including the 3-1/2 minutes they'd have once they reached the server room. Only a small blip in time to the access code and download what they needed before the alarm would sound. A piece of cake, right?

He looked over to the red headed analyst. She was magically focused, fully immersed in the screen in front of her. He knew giving her a nudge at that moment wouldn't accelerate the job. A professional like the rest of them, Nell knew time was of the essence. It was best not to interrupt her process until absolutely necessary. If he'd tried, she'd surely have some sassy comeback about how she could stayed back at OPS and he could have 'tried' to handle this without her. No, he had to trust that she had it under control.

The mission was simple – get in and get out with the data as fast as possible. They had been working the case for a few weeks now. It has all started with the two Marines on vacation in Malibu. Unfortunately, their holiday ended looking more like a battle scene, tortured in ways none of them had seen before and hoped never to see again. The team quickly learned, their enemy had one goal – gathering details around the departure a`1 nd route of a specific military arms shipment. While the Marines relied heavily on their training, sustaining many hours of torture, in the end, their opponents won out and the details of the convoy surfaced. Initially, the team thought the end game was the arms themselves, but when the scheduled shipment from Camp Pendleton to the Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport successfully moved forward without incident, they knew these terrorists where on the hunt for something else. Instead of arms, it was about information. The Training Center was located in a remote part of California and served as a specially designed training ground. Perched at high altitude, the goal was to acclimate Marines to rough terrain and extreme weather conditions, conditions not unlike those the troops were currently facing in Afghanistan; therefore making it a particularly intriguing target.

"Help a brother out G. How's it going in there?" He knew Sam was frustrated not being on the inside. They were partners after all, so not going in together felt a bit awkward. Instead, Sam was managing the field from ops alongside Hetty and Eric. Given the situation, it had only made sense for Nell to go in with Callen. It hadn't sat well with Sam, but he couldn't help agree that Nell's skill would be the difference in getting in and out quickly.

"We're working on it, Sam. Nell's almost done." He responded nonchalantly, although he himself was nervous. Getting caught wasn't an option, especially after seeing what had happened to those two Marines.

Nell had sensed the senior Agent In Charge was getting pressure to move things along. She had turned her ear wig off so that she could concentrate without Kensi and Deeks bantering in her ear and Eric's periodic check-ins. She couldn't understand how they all handled the endless chatter during a mission. A necessary evil she suspected. Kensi had explained once that all the noise brought her comfort and a sense of normalcy in the midst of the chaos, gun fire and God knows what else. For Nell, it was an unwanted distraction.

Turning off his ear wig, Callen turned to Nell. "Come on Nell. We got to speed things up. Sam and Deeks are getting antsy."

"Almost there … just, just a few seconds more …" She retorted, a bit mumbled as she contorted her face, clearly an external expression of the wheels turning in her head.

Callen usually avoided bring Nell and Eric into the field. Both had had arms and combat training, albeit not to the degree of the field team, but then it wasn't expected to be their specialty.

Eric's skills were infamous in NCIS circles. There were few codes he couldn't break and his ability to track the untrackable was unprecedented. And somehow, he always managed to find a traffic cam giving them unexpected eyes in the field.

Nell also had her own prowess. She loved data. She lived for it in fact and it was exactly that passion that has lead to this moment. Shifting through endless mountains of paperwork and computer records, she isolated the deployment records of three Marines who had recently been transferred to transport service and this specific arms shipment. While all had excellent records, they surprisingly leapfrogged several of their peers in line for the position.

Following the bread crumbs, Nell also discovered the three had suddenly seen significant bumps in their bank accounts and eventually leading the team to the puppet masters who were orchestrating the operation from a far.

The real instigators of the operation were working out of an insurance broker's office in Venice Beach, but before they could take them down, the team had to determine the real scope of the operation. What is a small terrorist cell just fishing for information or what was this a significant breach will real implications from the troops in Afghanistan? This mission was for Callen and Nell to sneak into the building with the afternoon cleaning crew, with the objective of finding the main server and uncovering the data collected from Training Center. They were confident if they accessed the data and set up a tracking device, they could then electronically trace where the information was being exported.

With the clock ticking and nearing the witching hour, Nell suddenly exclaimed "Got it."

Without a beat hesitation, Callen grabbed her arm and ushered her into the hall. Quietly saying, "Let's get out of here" as they moved. He'd had his ear to the door and knew unquestionable they were in the clear.

Reaching the stairwell, Callen tapped his ear wig back on to alert the team they were on the move. While they had the data, they were far from out of danger. Once they reached the main floor they would have to navigate through a series of security protocols and cameras.

"Eric, we're almost to the bottom of the stairwell. Do you have eyes in the hallway?"

"Yeah, there are two men in suits." Eric reported as he tapped away on his keyboard. "Looks like security detail. And ah, they don't appear to be moving."

Callen rolled his eyes. "Do you think we can come up with a distraction?" he said sharply as he and Nell removed their janitorial overalls.

"Working on it. Looks like setting off the building fire alarms will the best option."

"Make it so Mr. Beal." Hetty directed as she patiently watched the scene unfold in OPS.

"Yes ma'am. And if might I say, nice _Next Generation_ reference Hetty."

Hetty, un-amused at his attempt at humor, gave the young man a glower that he knew meant business.

But the joke wasn't lost on Nell who chuckled under her breath. Callen responded with a questioning look. "What?" she questioned back. "Hetty's always kinda reminded me of a female Jean-Luc Picard."

"I'm not going to even ask that the hell that means?" Callen smiled, just shaking his head.

"Captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise? Star Trek? Next Generation?" Callen raised his hands and gave her a blank stare. "He was frequently shown drinking earl grey tea and issuing an order by saying 'Make it so.' You know, kinda like Hetty does?" Callen had no response.

Nell smirked and shook her head in disbelief. "I know you guys are in the field a lot, but don't you even try to keep up with pop culture? I mean … don't you need it for the field?"

"I must have missed that one." He chuckled. "It must be a geek thing – no offense intended." He continued with a soft smile.

"None taken, but that's one Star Trek reference that I'm pretty sure most people would get. I bet Deeks could have even gotten that one."

Callen rolled his eyes again, offering a grunt in response. Thankfully his ear wig was still off. Knowing Deeks, he probably did know what the hell Nell was rambling on about and would have gone on and on about it for weeks to come. He'd have to Google it later he thought as the fire alarms went off.

As if like magic, the security guards scrambled out of the hall at lightning speed, giving Callen and Nell their opportunity.

The plan worked like a charm – at least initially. Callen managed to get them out of the building easily enough, but soon discovered there were five likely highly armed men hot on their trail.

Kensi and Deeks managed to dodge through the Venice Beach crowds and apprehend three of the suspects, but two remained and were quickly closing in.

"Eric, tell me you have eyes out there?" Callen nervously questioned, almost begged as he grabbed Nell's hand and pulled her around a corner into a small alley.

"I have eyes, but just barely. Looks like they're closing in and unfortunately, there aren't a lot of options with Kensi and Deeks out of commission." Eric admitted.

"G, you're running blind. It looks like your best option is to hide in plain sight." Sam chimed in knowing his partner was looking to OPS for tactical options.

"Thanks Sam." Callen immediately knew how to handle the situation. He turned off his earwig and turned to Nell. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course," she responded without hesitation. Callen can see in her face that she indeed did.

"Good," he replied. "Then no matter what, follow my lead." Knowing that Callen has had significantly more experience in these situations, Nell simply smiles in agreement. He nods, grabs her hand and together they take off, leaving the security of the alley and running out amongst the crowds on the Venice boardwalk.

They continued to navigate through the sea of pedestrians. They're destination is Callen's Mercedes, parked about fifteen blocks away in a supermarket parking lot. The suited men are for the moment, out of sight, but from his Spidey senses he knew they were still on their trail. Running through the crowd, Callen eyes the perfect spot to hide.

Then without Nell even realizing it, Callen pulled her against a light pole and kissed her. Nell quickly summarized that this is it was Sam meant about hiding in plain sight. Losing themselves in the crowd and looking just like any young couple stealing a romantic moment.

At first the whole experience was surreal. It was like she was outside her body looking in. So, this is what kissing Callen would be like, she quietly thought to herself. She realized it wasn't real, but that didn't mean she wasn't curious. Who wouldn't be, she thought. Callen might have an odd life, but he certainly wasn't hard on the eyes. And those blue eyes, ah don't even get me started, she thought herself. It was in that moment she realized the kiss that has started as a cover, was evolving into something more.

At first, Callen's lips had crashed down on hers with urgency and force, it was functional and fast. And while her body responded like it would to any kiss, it wasn't with the same level of passion as a romantic encounter; however, she quickly sensed things starting to change. Feeling the softness of his lips' touch and slower pace was new as though his lips were moving beyond their initial nervousness to confidently caressing hers. It was no longer a moment of action, it was instance of sweetness like a lover losing them self in the moment.

No, this was no longer a cover kiss and Nell knew it. Callen's body had betrayed him in ways Nell had never, and she suspected Callen had never, expected. Nell wasn't quite sure how to respond. Part of her wanted give into the moment and then there was the responsible agent in her. They were in the middle of being chased after all. Finally, as Callen's hands moved to encircle her waist and she could feel the soft touch of his fingers on her lower back's exposed skin her body's visceral response left her no option.

She gave in and she gave it big. She'd long had a secret crush on one Mr. Secret Agent In Charge and she figured if this was her moment, she was going to take it. She was going to show him once and for all that she wasn't just the smart, geeky pixie that made them all look good, but that she was a real woman will real desires and experience of her own.

Callen never revealed if he was taken aback by Nell's response, mostly likely because he was too busy matching her point for point. They were both getting lost in each other, forgetting they were in the middle of the Venice Beach Boardwalk.

They were both brought back to reality a random beach-goer yelling "Get a room!" Cautiously, they both stopped, both with eyes still at half mass and not sure where to focus. Callen leaned his head on Nell's forehead as he caught his breath and for which she thankful. It was in his unique way, subconscious or not, a sign of endearment. It was also an opportunity for him to catch his breath. He was more than a little worked up and wasn't in a position to turn around or walk away.

Nell suddenly realized that her hands where still resting on Callen's back side when she felt a vibration beneath her fingers. It was Callen's phone and most certainly OPS trying to reach them. Her hands made a hasty retreat, but not without extracting his phone first.

"It's Sam," she whispered trying not to make eye contact, handing him the pulsing object.

"Hey Sam," Callen answered turning away from Nell and rubbing his hand across his swollen lips wondering what the hell had just happened.

"G, where the hell are you? You turned your earwig off and neither of you have been answering your phones." He barked. "Are you and Nell OK?"

Callen swallowed hard, trying to catch his breath before he answered. "Yeah," he paused. It wasn't like him to get distracted on a case. Not like him at all. "Yeah, we're fine," he continued, looking back at Nell knowing they were anything but. "We're heading back to OPS now."

_**Author's Note: What do you think? Should I continue?**_


	2. Chapter 2 - Reflection

**Thank you for the all wonderful reviews! I'm so excited that you're all as jazzed about this story idea as I am and that there are so many Nallen fans out there. Please keep your reviews and story ideas coming. They mean so much!**

**Sadly, I own nothing related to the show.**

**Chapter 2 – Reflection**

Callen sat at the bar staring at the Sam Adams perched in front of him. The day had finally come to a close and thankfully, so did the case. The two remaining gunmen had been picked up by LAPD with a little guidance from Eric and when he and Nell finally made it back to OPS, they were able to put the remaining details to bed.

There had indeed been a significant breach at Mountain Warfare Training Center. The data revealed that everything from battle readiness plans to supply routes had been compromised. The implications for the troops in Afghanistan could have been disastrous if Nell hadn't uncovered what she had and the team hadn't followed the trail.

The ride back to OPS from Venice was oddly normal. For both Callen and Nell, their 'agent side' had kicked back in and in some ways, they over compensated a bit. They weren't cold or distant with each other, but it was all about business. Nell communicated with OPS while Callen navigated through the streets of LA. Once back at the Mission, it was as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened and no one was the wiser. Nell immediately jumped into the data with Eric and Callen joined Deeks, Kensi and Sam at the Boat Shed to interrogate the security team who had chased them. Within a few hours, they were able to wrap the whole thing up.

All in all, a normal day's work for the team, he thought. All except for one thing – he had kissed Nell and his mind was whirling. When he had planned the whole 'hiding in plain sight' cover in that split second, he never considered how he might react. He had a worried a bit that Nell might get the wrong idea, but then realized, she was an agent like the rest of them and had watch the team time and time again pretend in circumstances much like these.

Finally taking a sip of his beer, he realized there were two things that took him off guard. First, how wonderfully natural kissing Nell felt. He'd never experienced anything like it before. It was simple and sweet while simultaneously being erotically thrilling. She was a perfect match for him physically. How had he not realized that before now?

Nell was entirely different from the women that typically turned his eye. He didn't have a type per say, but he certainly went for a particular look. Most of the women he was attracted to could walk out of the pages of a Victoria Secret's catalog. May be it was just the typical guy thing, or it was the challenge of it all. Or more likely, it was the anonymity of picking up a nameless, hot woman at a club. Women, or more specifically sex, were more of a luxury in his line of work. He had always been about the job. There was so little room for error in this business, being focused was essential. That left little time for much else.

For Callen, that meant woman often took the back burner. He had needs, he was a man after all, but carefully chosen encounters usually did the trick. He wasn't built for relationships. The few that he had had, all failed – mostly because the job got in the way. It was either because, he was undercover and reality set in, or because he just couldn't open up enough to be true to another person. All too often it was the latter. Normal people just didn't understand his life and lifestyle. It worked for Sam and Michelle because while Sam couldn't talk about what he did every day, Michelle understood why from her own experiences in the CIA. They both just got it and understood the complications of each other's job. No woman in Callen's life had ever done that, not even Tracy, unless you include Nell. In many ways, Nell knew more about him than any woman out there, outside of Hetty, of course.

And then second and probably more surprisingly thing that took him off guard was how completely lost he got in that kiss with Nell. He'd always prided himself on his ability to immerse himself in the moment and become the case. But this afternoon on the boardwalk with Nell, she distracted him, and the case was the furthest thing from his mind. It was bewitching. Seriously, like Nell had cast a spell over him. Never before had he dropped the ball like that and it had really surprised him how one kiss could be so overwhelmingly blinding.

It was Nell after all, right? Nell. She was biggest mystery of all. He'd never really thought of her that way before. Ok, he maybe he have once or twice, but it was more like of a fleeting moment. Men think of all women 'that way' at least once. Maybe it was because Nell was such an integral part of the job or because she hid herself so well under all those crazy outfits of hers. Or maybe it was because she revealed a side of herself that he'd never seen or expected. When their lips started to dance and really move away from a pure cover kiss, she didn't shy away – far from it, in fact. In that moment, Callen realized there was much more to Nell to then computers, geeky factoids and an outrageous IQ. Underneath those ginger locks, was a fiery spirit, an amazingly sexy woman and a person he seriously craved to know.

"That beer's not going to drink it's self, you know." Sam said, interrupting Callen's 'Nell day dream'. Callen wasn't sure if it was just infatuation or lust or love, but there was something about Nell that he just couldn't shake. And never having experienced anything like this before, he was also at a loss of what to do. And now, he had to figure out how to manage Sam who clearly had his number, or at least knew something was up.

"No, I suppose not," Callen softly smiled, taking another swig of his beer. "How'd you find me?"

"I had Eric track your phone," Sam said nonchalantly.

"Of course you did," G grinned.

"I thought it was easier than trying to tail you from OPS. But then with you as distracted as you've been today, it might not have been that hard." And there is was. Sam had indeed picked up the 'Callen was off his game vibe.' There was no getting out of it now.

"So, you found me," Callen retorted. He knew the conversation that was headed his way, but that didn't necessarily mean he was going to make it easy on his partner.

"That I did."

"Well, now that you did, what can I do for you Sam?" G asked, still nursing his beer.

Sam knew G was a master at circular conversations. It was best that he got to the point or this could go on all night and he'd promised Michelle he'd be home sooner rather than later. "How 'bout you tell what the hell happened out there today?"

"Did Hetty send you?"

"No." Sam could see the relief wash over Callen's face, sensing that this was bigger than he had originally suspected. "My sense is that she has a clue. You know her with her ninja skills."

"Yeah, that I do," he responded drifting back into deep thought. Sam was right. Hetty probably knew. But how could she? When he'd plotted this whole plan, he'd intentionally looked for cameras. He didn't know what the deal was between Eric and Nell, but the last thing he needed to do was stir things up. And clearly, it had worked. They'd fallen off the radar. Sam had called in a panic looking for them and when they had gotten back to the Mission, no one had questioned what had happened. If Eric had known or even suspected, he wouldn't have been able to keep to himself, so he was pretty sure they were in the clear. That still left Hetty? Did she just have a sixth sense?

"So what is it G?" Sam questioned, flagging down the bartender, motioning that he'd also like a beer.

"Not much to tell. I took your advice today and hid in plain sight," Called responded matter-of-factly. Sam smiled, thinking of all the times he'd done the same thing. Blending into the background was an art form and a decisive moment for any agent. If you could successfully achieve that, and then you knew you had the skills to be a real success. It was a knack Callen had mastered early in life, let alone his career, mainly out of necessity.

"So? Whatch ya do? Play tourist? Sell sunglasses at the 'Sun Glass Hut'?" Sam joked until he realized Callen wasn't jumping in on the jovial conversation. "G?"

And then came the words Sam least expected. "I kissed Nell."

Sam almost choked, but he gracefully swallowed his last sip of beer, trying to mask his surprise. He was moderately successful. Ok, so G kissed Nell, no big deal. He'd kissed Kensi dozens of times. But it was clear that wasn't the problem. Was the problem that he'd kissed her and she'd had an issue with it? Were they now going to have "office issues"? Or was it just the opposite? Had he actually felt something? Had the infamous G Callen actually experienced something sincere and real? In true Callen fashion, his face revealed nothing. Sam decided the best way to proceed was to play it casual and be the supportive friend. That's what Callen needed and likely the best strategy to get his to start talking.

"So, no big deal right? It's not like it's the first time you had to kiss someone in the field. Heck, you'd had to do a whole lot more in the name of country."

G laughed. "That's for sure." He'd married Tracy for god's sake.

"So, G, then what is it? Is it Nell? I'm sure she realized it was a cover kiss."

"Yeah, she got it."

"So what's the problem?"

"I'm not sure it was … a cover kiss," Callen coughed out.

"What do you mean; you're not sure it was?" Sam questioned, giving his partner a rather serious look.

"I don't know partner, something happened. We, we had a moment – a connection."

And for the first time in their partnership, Sam witnesses a new side of Callen. This was a side of his friend had never seen before. As often as he and Michelle had hoped G would become more 'human,' more like the rest of them, seeing him actually become it, was a bit un-nerving and surreal. Ok, he kissed Nell. They had had moment. Was it purely physical or was there a real connection between the two. Being honest with himself, it felt like an unlikely match. Nell was at least 15 years his junior, a genius, a pop-culture know-it-all and dating Eric, or so he thought. And a far cry from the women Callen usually dated. Not that there was anything wrong with Nell, she'd just broken the Callen mold. Then maybe that was the heart of it all. Maybe all these years, G had been looking in the wrong place, and in the wrong moment the right woman had found him.

"A connection? Like what G?"

"I don't know. You know I'm not good with this stuff," Callen responded frustrated. Feelings, especially his were his least favorite subject. But the flood gate had opened – both his and Sam's. Now that his partner was looped in, there was going to be no stopping him, if there was any hope of ending this conversation, he had to keep talking. "C'mon Sam. I don't know. Something … something unexpected. It was just different. I was different. One minute, it was all a cover. You know normal stuff like I was kissing Kensi and then the next … I was completely lost in it, in her.

"Tell me what you mean when you say 'different'?"

"Sam, really? Are we really having this conversation?"

"Yes, G, we are. Because when we're in the field together, I need to know you're all in. Was this the real thing or was this you suddenly getting the urge to get into Nell's pants?" Sam knew it was a harsh response, but he spoke the truth. The reality was that he did need Callen to be completely checked in when they were on a mission. At the same time, if his six sense was correct and this thing with Nell was more than just a random moment, then being crass was an easy way to draw out the truth.

"This isn't about sex if that's what you're asking. I wouldn't do that, not to Nell. Besides, it was just one kiss – one amazing, long drawn out kiss," Callen replied taking a long pull of his beer and drifting back into his memories from that afternoon.

And with that response, Sam knew it all. This wasn't about lust or crushes or even a potential one night stand. G Callen felt something real for Nell Jones and he probably had felt that way for a long time, and that one kiss had brought all those emotions bubbling to the surface. Sam smirked to himself. Callen was finally discovering there was a heart under all those layers of mistrust, hurt and pain.

"And what about for Nell? Was she as into it as you were?" Oddly, it's a question Callen hadn't given much thought to. He'd been so wrapped up in his own unfamiliar feelings; he hadn't considered what it had meant to her. Had he been too assumptive in thinking she enjoyed the moment as much as he had?

"I think so, um, I mean, I assume so. She didn't push me away."

"You think so? Man, have I taught you nothing?" The big guy joked.

"Taught me? You do know I did date before we became partners." Callen retorted, sparking the first smile all evening.

"Mmm. Hmm. If that's what you wanna call it. Not really how Gibbs tells it," Sam lobbed back, taking another swig of his Sam Adams.

"Oh that hurts, Big Guy. You trust Gibbs over me. He has his own issues you know."

"Maybe so, but I'm thinking he's pretty spot on when it come to your romantic life, such as it is."

Callen knew Sam was right. After Tracy, he'd dipped his toe in the dating pool a few times, but his real focus had been his work – fighting bad guys, hunting down terrorists and more importantly, finding his family.

"Well, we haven't really talked about it. Nell and I. The thing ended …"

"… the kiss?," Sam unquestionable smiled.

"Yes, the kiss …" Callen flipped back with a smart-ass expression and you'll pay for that later smile. "It ended right before you called. We barely had the chance to catch our breath and we kind of left it there."

"You left it there? What about the ride back to OPS?"

"You know Nell when she's all about business. And I was trying to figure out what the hell had happened. And you were all over my ass for not answering my phone. Then there was the case. Honestly, Sam, when was there time?"

"Then G, what the hell are you doing sitting here? Nell's not your ordinary woman. She's one of the keepers. You don't mess around with women like that. You need to talk to her. If not because there might be something there, then for the team. We have enough craziness with Kensi and Deeks and their whatever-you-want-to-call-it thing; we don't need any more romantic weirdness on this team. And have you considered the whole Eric factor?"

"Sam, are you getting all big brother on me?" His head just spinning with everything Sam was dishing at him.

"Well clearly someone has to. Seriously, this is Nell. Not some night club girl. Go talk to her, and do it now before I have to bring in reinforcements."

"You wouldn't Sam?" Callen begged knowing exactly to whom he was referring.

"If you don't want me to call Michelle, you know what you have to do," Sam said downing the last of his beer. And with that, he got up and threw a couple of bucks on the bar for his beer and started for the door. "You have 24 hours brother. Use 'em wisely. And oh yeah, say hi to Nell for me."

_**Author's Note: What do you think? Will he talk to Nell?  
**_


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